Question For You, Del.....

I'm not Del. The blue wire is the only switched hot wire in the engine bay. It feeds ignition and charging system and everything else they added along the years. Additions were mostly EPA/emissions related. This heater element causes the choke to open a little bit faster but choke will work just fine without it.
The OEM ceramic box controller consists of wound resistor wires and mechanical points much like the gauge voltage limiter except there are two in this controller. Its not sealed either so moisture can get in it. Bound to fail sooner or later. If it becomes a short to ground it can effect operation of those other systems.